


As Long As You Bring Your Dog

by heerickson



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: College AU, Dogs, First Date, Flirting, Fluff, Harry Styles - Freeform, Louis Tomlinson - Freeform, M/M, One Shot, University of Kansas, college students, larry - Freeform, larry stylinson - Freeform, meet cute, mitch rowland - Freeform, one chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:55:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22999564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heerickson/pseuds/heerickson
Summary: Harry is driving down his college's main boulevard enjoying the weather and dogs on walks, but what happens when he tells a random dog that he loves them but ends up falling for their owner?
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 52





	As Long As You Bring Your Dog

**Author's Note:**

> This is a one-shot based on something that actually happened to me but made better lol. I tweeted about it @goldenlouver and I said that when it hit 25k likes I would write a one-shot about it, and its currently at 315k so here we are! 
> 
> The song that opens up this scene is A Lack of Understanding by The Vaccines it really sets a vibe for the fic so I recommend listening! 
> 
> This is a work of fiction and even though it was inspired by something that happened to me I changed the story so that it is more positive and fun so enjoy this short little bit of fluff!

_Would I make it right?_

_Would it make you less uptight?_

_What would it achieve?_

_What should I put up my sleeve?_

Harry leaned his head back into his seat belting out the lyrics to his current favorite song by the Vaccines. He turned his head to his best friend Mitch who was currently nodding his head along to beat of the song. While Mitch was the complete opposite of Harry when it came to energy, they balanced each other out and Harry doesn’t think he would have survived freshman year without Mitch. Harry and Mitch were randomly paired to be roommates their freshman year and Harry found both a best friend and a great roommate in the process.

  
  


Today was the first day of the new semester that was not covered in a layer of ice and freezing temperatures, and Harry and Mitch were going to take advantage of that. When they woke up that Friday to the sun shining into their dorm room, they jumped out of bed and threw on their clothes, grabbed their sunglasses and decided to make the most of the nice weather. Harry threw his long curly hair into a bun on the back of his head and slid his sunglasses over his eyes. The day began with them in the McDonalds drive thru arguing over which is better, a bacon egg and cheese biscuit or a sausage burrito (Harry was dead set that a burrito is both more portable and has more flavor and Mitch was dead set on the bacon egg and cheese being the epitome of breakfast foods). Once they had their respective meals in their bellies, they decided that the best way to celebrate the day was to drive down campus with the windows down and that's how they found themselves on their sixth lap of campus with countless more in their future. Harry found himself completely wrapped up in the music with his eyes shut feeling the slightly still cool breeze on his face when he was jolted back to reality. Mitch yelling was a very rare occurrence, especially sober, and it happening while he was behind the wheel was startling to say the least. “DOG” yelled Mitch again. Harry’s eyes bolted to where he was pointing and found, quite literally, the fluffiest puppy known to man. It looked like a fluffy black mop on legs and Harry genuinely considered jumping out of the moving car to see the dog. He settled for sticking his head out of the window and yelling at the man currently putting the leash on the perfect dog’s neck. He yelled as loud as he could, “I LOVE YOUR DOG” and smiled wildly at the man as he jumped from where he was standing and jerked his head upward toward the sudden noise. What Harry was then met with was the most perfectly stunning blue eyes he had ever seen right next to cheekbones that could cut glass. Harry’s smile immediately fell from his face as his jaw dropped leaving his mouth hanging wide open and imaginary drool dripping from his mouth at how enamored he was with that mystery man with the perfect dog. As they kept driving down the boulevard, Harry kept eye contact with the blue eyed man for as long as possible before they turned the corner making him fall just out his eyeline. 

Harry whipped his head back to Mitch and calmly stated, “I think I’m in love.” Mitch just responded with a chuckle, “With the dog or with Louis?” 

“You know him??” Harry said with a tone in his voice that suggested that he might have left his last bit of sanity back with Louis on the corner of the street. 

“Yeah him and I have a few classes together, nice dude.” Mitch said offhandedly as if this was not, quite literally, the most important moment in Harry’s young life. 

With the realization that Mitch did indeed know Louis and they have hung out many times (Harry didn’t even pretend to be angry about how he had missed meeting this greek god of a man before today) Harry was on to his next task, getting Louis’ number and making him fall in love with him. 

“Wait does he even like guys?” Harry asked with a more serious tone. 

“Because that’s the kind of conversation you have with the guy sitting next to you in calc. ‘Hey mate what did you get for number five, also do you suck cock?” Mitch rolled his eyes at Harry’s desperation. 

This earned him a swift punch to the forearm from Harry and a dramatic eye roll. 

“Here’s the deal. I think we both know that I will literally not stop talking about his eyes or his cheekbones or his perfect hair or the way his ass looked…” Harry was interrupted by Mitch clearing his throat. “And your point is?” 

“My point is that either you listen to me mope all day and write poetry about his eyes….. Or you could give me his number and I'll spend my energy elsewhere.” As Harry finished his proposal, they had just reached the parking lot of their dorm. It was an older building with brick walls and dark wood. Harry described it as “original and had stories to tell”, Mitch described it as old and musty. 

“You’re going to have to sweeten the pot a bit more for me to just hand over his number. I am not one for going around sharing my friends’ private information with any street corner crazy that I come across.” Mitch smiled at Harry with a cheek splitting grin and an eyebrow wiggle. 

“Fine. Wow I am truly doing everything for love... they could write a book about my life. I’ll buy the pizza for dinner later if you FINALLY give me this god damn beautiful boy’s number!” Harry threw his hands in the air as if this was the ultimate sacrifice for love. 

“Deal. But I get to choose the toppings too, and I’m craving pineapple” Mitch said narrowing his eyes. Another food debate the pair had had, Harry truly detests the idea of pineapple on pizza and believes that anyone who enjoys it is, in fact, certifiable insane. 

With that Harry ran full force at Mitch and was on his way to tackle him when he turned and ran towards their front door leading Harry on a chase. Once they finally got inside Harry jumped on Mitch’s back and they walked through the door with Harry mounted on Mitch’s back. 

\------------------------------

A few hours of Game of Thrones and beer later, Mitch finally caved. 

“If you do anything to make him think I’m friends with a freak sex addict or something I swear I will throw your mattress out of the window.” Mitch groaned as he handed Harry his phone with Louis’ contact pulled up. Harry immediately jumped out of his seat and jumped on top of Mitch where he was sitting on their shared living room couch. 

“MITCH I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I COULD KISS YOU BUT I WON’T BECAUSE THAT’S SAVED FOR LOUIS BUT I LOVE YOU AND THANK YOU!!” Harry said while giving Mitch a giant sloppy kiss on the cheek. Mitch pushed him off of him and Harry promptly fell on the floor face first. As soon as the realization that he would have Louis’ number and would be able to talk to the beautiful man he saw on the college boulevard set in, Harry turned into what can only be described as a giddy teenage girl who has her first crush. Harry’s cheeks blushed while he adamantly typed into his phone. He was so focused on crafting the absolute perfect message that his tongue poked out of his closed mouth and his brow was furrowed in concentration. After what seemed like eternity, Harry dramatically pressed send by pulling his arm back and pushing the send button in iMessages as if it were a game show buzzer. 

“Do you think he’s going to text back? What if he has no idea who I am? What if he thought I was hideous and would laugh at my text?” Harry flopped down onto the couch throwing his hands over his face and groaned. 

“Well first of all, I don’t even know what you wrote so let me see your message and I’ll tell you if you’re acting like your usual creep self or if you came across as an actual functioning human being.” Mitch held his hand out to have Harry show him the message. Harry handed his phone over with his tongue sticking out of his mouth at Mitch because, what is he even talking about Harry is the most charming and easy-going person he knows… right?

The text read: 

**hi!! this is the dork yelling at you about how cute your dog is and my friend Mitch gave me your number**

**would you want to grab a drink with me sometime? the invite is extended to your dog as well**

**oh and my names Harry by the way!!!**

Mitch laughed to himself and looked up at Harry. “I mean for anyone else I would question the excessive use of punctuation and excitement… but since it’s you this is actually quite tame. Remember that one time you sent me 37 texts in a row because you found a new band you liked?” 

“That was the Greeting Committee and I stand by every single one of those texts. They are a killer band and their lead singer is a badass and she deserves the world.” Harry said crossing his arms and raising his chin. 

“....but you don’t think it’s too much? I mean I don't know if he even is interested in guys let alone me and what if he didn’t even see me and…” Harry was quickly cut off by Mitch throwing a pillow at him. 

“HARRY. Chill the fuck out dude it’s just a guy. If he texts back, he texts back. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. You move on. But one thing you can’t move on from is this pizza deal we discussed. I’m starving and I'm now craving a side of breadsticks too.” Mitch stood up and went towards the kitchen where they kept their pile of take out menus. Their collection of menus has begun to outnumber the amount of actual food items in their dorm. 

“You order the pizza and I’ll go get us another six pack because God knows you need to chill the hell out man.” Mitch said with a smile as he grabbed his keys and headed towards the door. 

As soon as the door shut though, Harry’s phone lit up and showed a notification from **LOUIS:)** that said: 

**_hey harry! this is louis yeah I remember you from today you scared the shit out of with your yelling but clifford appreciated the compliment lol_ **

**_and I would love to get a drink with you sometime. I’m actually free tomorrow afternoon if you wanted to meet at the wheel? They allow dogs on their patio and they always play the best 80’s music_ **

Harry could feel his heartbeat in his toes as he read (and reread) those texts from his mystery man. He likes 80’s music? He wants to get drinks with him TOMORROW? Harry’s heart raced as he clutched his phone to his chest and layed back on the couch. Sure he was acting like a complete idiot about getting drinks with the most beautiful man alive, but hey Mitch wasn’t here to see him so he indulged himself. 

Harry opened up his phone again and began typing a message back to Louis.

**sounds great! I can meet you at the Wheel at like 4:30 if that works for you!**

**also random side question… what’s your opinion of pineapple on pizza?**

Louis responded almost immediately with a text that simply read: 

**_absolutely hate it. I hope you don’t plan on ordering it on our date tomorrow see you at 4:30 harry :)_ **

A date. Louis just called it a date. Harry could feel his heart explode in his chest and, luckily before he could start dancing alone in his dorm to no music at all, Mitch walked in the door with a six-pack of beer. 

“We’re not getting pineapple on the pizza tonight because Louis doesn’t like pineapple on his pizza. One of the many reasons that we are meant to be.” Harry stated matter of factly. 

“I take it Louis responded?” Mitch laughed and tossed Harry a beer from the six-pack he was holding. “I’m glad, maybe I’ll finally get some space from you, clingy.” 

Harry rolled his eyes but could do little to hide the slight smile creeping up on his lips and the rush of red that was approaching his cheeks. He had a date tomorrow. With Louis. Today might just have been the best day of Harry’s life… so far. 

_______________________

Harry woke up at his usual weekend time, around 10:30. He layed in his bed for a few minutes just holding on to the last moments of sleep he could muster. He was just about to fall back into a light sleep when he realized what day it was. It was Saturday. Harry had a date with Louis today. His heart jumped through his chest and his eyes shot open to the ceiling above him. His face broke into a giant grin and he curled into his covers further. He was beyond nervous about their drinks but he had some gut feeling that this was going to work out. Call it Harry being a romantic, or call it fate, Harry was excited about today. 

He jumped out of his bed and decided that he was at least going to try to be productive to pass the time. He decided on going to the gym and running through his anxiety. He threw on a pair of black running shorts, a loose black tee shirt and his neon running shoes. Mitch loved to give him shit for those shoes but Harry loved them anyway. He grabbed a hair tie from his bedside table and threw his hair up into a high bun to keep it out of his face while he ran. He had been growing his hair out for quite a while and he quickly thought about how he would style it for his date tonight. 

He grabbed a water bottle from their fridge and jumped into his car to head to the rec center. His car wasn’t anything special but it got him from point A to point B. It was the first thing he bought when he started college and has become something he cherished more than one would expect from a 1996 Jeep Cherokee. He hopped in and queued up some new music he had been listening to and headed toward the gym. Luckily the weather from the day before had continued and it was sunny and 75, perfect for his date. He casually drove down the boulevard bobbing his head to the music and singing along to the bits he knew and tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. 

Once he finally reached the rec center, he threw his car in park, grabbed his water bottle and keys and headed inside. He walked in and immediately groaned about how busy it was. There were people in every weight station, and he found only one treadmill left open on the first floor. He sighed to himself and walked over towards the lockers to lock his keys up. When he turned around he went straight for the last open treadmill hoping he got there before anyone else stole it and made his great day worse. He luckily walked up to the open treadmill and hopped on. He placed his water bottle in the cup holder and pulled his headphones out of his pocket. Once he finally got them untangled, he popped them into his ears and scrolled through his playlists. His mind went back to Louis telling him that he loves 80s music and if he played an 80s playlist for his workout because he knows Louis likes it, he wouldn’t dare tell. 

Harry ran for about three miles to warm up and to get his body ready for the rest of his workout. Harry was by no means an athlete but he kept in shape and he found that running was something that always took his mind off of anything that was crowding his mind and currently, that was his date in a few hours. Once Harry hit the three mile point, he slowed his run down to a walk to come down from his run. He walked about half a mile before his heart rate slowed down enough for him to take a deep breath and hop off the treadmill. He next moved on from the treadmills and walked over towards the weights and machines. He took a big gulp from his water bottle and he poured a bit in his hand and ran his hand through his hair to slick it back from where it fell while he was running. He could feel his chest still rising, loving the slightly tight feeling in his ribs from the good workout. 

He found an open spot by the benchpress and decided that if his arms looked a little more tone for his date with Louis he wouldn’t be mad about it. He did rounds of ten reps each and he added weights each round. He started with 180 pounds and went up adding 5 each round until he reached 200 pounds. He had found that building muscle was something he enjoyed. He loved the strain he put on his muscles just enough to push him to finish his rep. Once he finished his last rep of the bench press, he decided that he would do one more workout to even out his set and he found that there was an open spot by the free weights. He went and grabbed two 25 pound weights, deciding to end his workout with an easy few minutes. He did 25 dumbbell shoulder presses with the weights and when he felt the pressure build up in his shoulder he did 10 more bicep curls and called it a day. He wanted to get a workout in but he would be mad at himself if he showed up to the date sore and walking like a newborn giraffe. He finished his last set and put away and wiped down all of the weights and the area he was lifting in. He was considerably sweaty and he had spent more time than he had thought at the gym as it was already 1:30pm. He quickly did a few cool down stretches to make sure that he wasn’t sore tomorrow and grabbed his things and made his way home from the rec. 

He walked in the door to his shared dorm and felt as though he was drenched in sweat. He made a beeline for the shower, excited for the warm spray to soothe his slightly aching muscles. He pulled his messed up bun out and let his hair fall loose down his shoulders and stepped out of his sweat drenched clothes letting them pile on the floor. 

As Harry stepped into the shower he felt his whole body relax under the warm water. He let himself stand there for a few minutes, recovering from his workout and letting the water relax both his body and his mind. He then grabbed his shampoo and lathered his hair up with a generous amount and rubbed it into his scalp. He sighed into the feeling of the sweat washing off of him and his muscles continue to relax under the hot water. Next he grabbed his bottle of conditioner that Mitch convinced him to buy because his curls “deserve better”. Harry won’t admit it but his curls had been bouncier everytime he has used it and he wanted to look his best for tonight. Once the bathroom had become too steamy to even see, Harry finally finished his shower routine and turned the water off. As he stepped out of the shower he grabbed a towel and began toweling off his body and threw his hair up into a towel twist. He wrapped a towel around his waist and made his way back to his bedroom. 

Harry grabbed his phone off of his bed and saw that the time was already 3:00. Harry cursed at himself for spending so long in the shower and quickly went to his closet to pick out his outfit for the night. He obviously grabbed a pair of his ripped black skinny jeans and threw them on the bed to put on later. He sifted through the shirts hanging up in his closet and his eyes found a silky blue button up shirt that reminded him of a certain someone’s eyes. He knew it was cheesy but he also knew that this shirt made his green eyes pop and it laid nicely on his tattooed chest. He laid it down on his bed and inspected the outfit. He wasn’t sure what Louis would wear but he has never been one to underdress an important event and this was a very important event. 

He grabbed a pair of his usual black boxer briefs and slid on his skin tight black skinny jeans. He knew the way his ass looked in these and he was not ashamed to admit that he was more than excited for Louis to see him in these jeans. Next he buttoned up his blue silk shirt making sure to leave the top few buttons open so that his chest showed and you can see the green cross necklace that he put on next. He next flips his head over and scrunches his hair with the towel to dry it off as much as he can while making sure that his curls are still in tact. He gave himself a glance over in the mirror and nodded at his reflection. He checked the time again quickly to make sure that he wasn’t going to be late and saw the time at the top of his phone showing the time 3:36pm. Just below the time he saw two text messages from both Mitch and Louis. Obviously Harry clicked on the one from Louis first and saw the message:

**_better be on your A game tonight, cliff is hard to please_ **

Harry smiled down at his phone and typed a quick response before finishing getting ready. 

**see you later, and more importantly tell Clifford I’ll see him later as well xx**

His next text was from Mitch and it said a simple: 

**LMK if i need to be out of the dorm tonight ;)**

Harry rolled his eyes but said a quick thank you to himself for having the best roommate in the world. 

  
  


He walked back into the bathroom that had finally let go of some of the steam from his shower to the point where he is finally able to finish getting ready in the mirror. He pulls out his curl cream and diffuser that he definitely bought for Gemma who didn’t want them as a gift. Not because it made his curls shine in the light and curl perfectly around his face and shoulders. He poured some of the cream into his palm and scrunched it in his hair. Next he plugged in his diffuser and began drying his hair by scrunching it up with the blow dryer and moving across his hair. He knew that he was going all out for this date but he wanted to make sure that he looked his best. 

  
  


Harry finally finished drying and styling his hair around 4:15pm. Just in time to make it to The Wheel with a few minutes to spare. He knew there wouldn’t be a huge crowd since the patio was so open, but he wanted to make sure he got there before Louis so that he could at least subtly show how excited he was for the date. He quickly grabbed his keys, wallet, phone and slipped on his Chelsea Boots that were sitting next to the door with his and Mitch’s other shoes. He checked his reflection in the mirror one last time before heading out the door. Harry knew that his heart was pounding out of his chest on his walk over to The Wheel but he said a silent prayer that that didn’t show itself in the sweat on his forehead as he walked. 

He made it to The Wheel ten minutes before he and Louis agreed to meet, enough time to grab them both beers, slices of pizza, and a seat on the patio with a place for Clifford. He went up to the bar and ordered two wheat beers, a slice of cheese pizza and a slice of pepperoni so that Louis could choose between the two. He grabbed the beers and stacked the paper plates of pizza and headed back to the table on the patio he had saved for them. 

  
  
  


Harry checked his phone for what seemed like the 50th time to see the clock beaming back at him in big letters. **4:39pm.** As each minute passed Harry’s leg bounced faster and faster and he found himself drinking both his and Louis’ beer. He couldn’t help it, he was freaking out inside and could feel himself being stood up. Just as Harry was about to stand up and head back to his dorm and wallow in self pity, he saw Louis walking up to the patio. 

“Hey sorry I’m late but I’m finally here! You can blame Cliff. He decided that the exact moment we left my apartment was the time to take the world’s largest shit!” Louis said with a laugh as he sat down. 

Harry’s heart simultaneously rose to his throat and dropped to his stomach when he saw Louis. How could someone look so perfect in just a white tee shirt and black jeans? Harry was genuinely convinced Louis was a figment of his imagination that he manifested into reality that day in the car. Seeing him sitting in front of him and talking to him was almost too much to bear. 

Harry stood up quickly and gave Louis a hug. “Well I’m glad you made it! Sorry I seem to have drank both of our beers… here let me go get you another one.” Harry said while scratching the nape of his neck and scrunching his nose. 

“No, no I’m the late one let me go grab the next round! You watch Cliff here and I’ll go grab us some drinks.” Louis said as he handed Harry Clifford’s lead. 

As Harry watched Louis walk away, he definitely didn’t watch the swing of his hips as he walked, and he most definitely did not bend down to tell Clifford how much he was in love with his owner. 

As Harry was bent over giving Cliff as much love as humanly possible in a short amount of time in the form of head scratches, belly rubs and pats, he saw Louis finally making his way back to the table with their two beers and… oh no… he has shot glasses. 

“I figured since I made you wait around for me the least I could do is make it up to you!” Louis said with a cheek splitting grin that Harry knew could ruin his life. 

“I’ve already had two beers and now I’m having a third AND a shot?? What are you trying to do get me drunk on the first date?” Harry said with a glint of mischief in his eyes. 

“Of course I am.” Louis deadpans.

Harry blushes and hides his face in his hands stifling a giggle. 

At that moment Clifford moves from Louis’ side and goes and lays his head on Harry’s lap looking up at him. Louis laughed to himself and raised his shot glass and said “To Clifford” Harry raised his shot glass towards Louis and they both downed the shots in one go. Harry looked up at Louis with a sour face after the shot and found that Louis was not phased by the alcohol at all. 

Louis looked Harry in the eyes with more meaning that he anticipated and said “You know, a dog is the best judge of character.” and once again Harry blushed. 

“Well if Clifford likes me then I must be a pretty alright guy because he's the sweetest little guy ever.” Harry smiled down at Clifford and patted him on the head where he was laying his chin on Harry’s leg. 

The rest of the date whizzed by in a flurry of flirty jokes, stories about their lives, and talking about their future. The conversation flowed so easily in fact that they didn’t even notice when the lights came on outside after the sun had long since set. When they both realized that their night was coming to an end, Louis not so subtly placed his hand on Harry’s knee and gave it a slight squeeze. Harry could feel every nerve ending in his body shoot off and he felt as though he was on some psychedelic drug with Louis’ hands on him even in such an innocent way. Louis noticed the reddening of Harry’s cheeks and moved his hand up incrementally higher towards Harry’s thigh and gave it another squeeze with a slight giggle. Harry knew that this attention was probably because they have had more than their fair share of drinks tonight and they had moved closer as the evening went on, but that fact did nothing to stop his pants from getting tighter. 

They talked for about thirty more minutes before the late night crowd started to roll in. Harry notices the fact that Clifford was getting restless sitting in the same spot and he wondered just how long they had been sitting there. 

“It looks like Clifford here is getting restless, should we go take him on a walk?” Harry asked looking up from Clifford to Louis. 

“What are you trying to take a walk down memory lane?” Louis said jokingly while nudging Harry in the shoulder. 

He doesn’t know if it was the alcohol or the flirting that made him so bold with his next comment but he found himself responding, “Always on the lookout for cute boys with fluffy dogs.” 

Louis looked at him as though he was a completely different boy from the one he had met earlier. One who was more confident and one who was significantly sexier. 

“Well let’s go then! Your prince awaits!” Louis said bumping their shoulders together as they walked out of The Wheel together. 

The pair found themselves walking a bit too close and when Harry’s hand just barely grazed Louis’ he could feel all of the blood rush to his face. Before Harry could react though, Louis grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers. Harry instinctively swung their hands between them like little kids and it made Louis giggle and lean into Harry just a little bit more. Harry thought that he could spend the rest of his life doing dorky things to make Louis giggle like that. 

They walked the whole length of the boulevard swinging their hands back and forth while letting Clifford lead the way slowly down the sidewalk. Once they both reached the front door of Harry’s place, Harry was grasping at straws looking for a reason to continue their night.

Louis could see the look in Harry’s eyes and almost as if he could read his mind, he told him “I don’t quite want tonight to end either, but from my perspective I think we should do this again. Thoughts?” Louis said, half joking and half serious. 

Without thinking, Harry took a step forward closer to Louis. “Definitely.” Their eyes met and both looked down at the other’s lips and back to their eyes, urging the other to make the first move. Louis, as always, took charge and started to lean in. He was abruptly interrupted by Clifford jumping up on the two of them, interrupting the intimate moment. They both exhaled and looked over towards Clifford smiling. 

“Oh please I could never forget about you!” Harry said as he knelt down to give Cliff a head scratch. 

“He’s basically attached to you at this point so you better keep that promise.” Louis said, once again half joking half serious because he could get used to Harry around, playing with Cliff and being around for other reasons.

Louis leaned over and gave Cliff a pat on the head and grabbed his lead. He turned to Harry to give him a simple wave and goodbye after their ruined moment at the doorstep. He turned to walk away and made it two steps before he felt Harry’s large hand on his bicep. Before he could react he was being swung back towards the door and his mouth was met with Harry’s. He was frozen for a second as he processed what was happening, but once he realized that he was in Harry’s arms and his lips were on his, he melted into the kiss and wrapped his arm around Harry’s slim waist. He could feel their warmth being melded into two, and Louis doesn’t think he has ever, or will ever feel something so visceral and real. 

They finally broke apart and were breathing heavily looking into each other's eyes. Harry leaned his forehead down to touch Louis’. They stood there not speaking until Louis reached his hand up to Harry’s face. Harry melted into the touch and Louis could see his eyes close and any tension fell from his face. Louis quietly whispered that only Harry could hear, “Goodnight Harry.” He stroked his thumb across his cheekbone one last time and pulled back. They could both feel the warmth being pulled from them as the cold night air filled back into their lungs. Louis gave him one more smile as Harry bit his lip watching him as he walked away. Both thought to themselves, “I am so eternally and extremely… fucked.” 

Harry walked into his dorm as if he was in a daze. He could feel his feet floating as he made his way back to his bedroom, thankful that Mitch was not home because he was absolutely positive that he looked like an absolute idiot. He didn’t care though, what he cared about was the feeling of Louis’ hands on him, and his lips on his. He drifted off towards his bed and flopped his body down, spreading out on his mattress, with all of his clothes and even his shoes on. He opened up his phone and immediately sent a text to Louis.

**text me when you get home… don’t want Cliff staying out too late**

Once he sent the text, he dropped his phone on his bed next to his face and layed there, thinking about the night he just had. He then rolls over and relents to changing out of his outfit from the night into something more comfortable that he can wear in bed and think about Louis more. He decides on an old KISS tour shirt and just his black boxers from tonight. 

By the time he makes it back to his bed after brushing his teeth and putting away his outfit from tonight, he notices his phone light up across the room. He every so casually jumps across his bed to reach his phone waiting for a response from Louis. He opens his phone and reads Louis’ message:

**_we just got home, cliff is already a snuggle bug trying to crawl into my bed_ **

Harry desperately tries not to think about crawling into Louis’ bed.

Louis not so desperately think of Harry crawling into his bed, sleepy and cuddly after their long night. 

Harry responds: 

**how is it that I’m constantly tired but tonight I couldn’t be bothered to fall asleep?**

**_I was just thinking the same thing… I think something good happened tonight that has me awake but I can’t seem to put my finger on it…. any ideas?_ **

**absolutely no idea what you’re talking about :)**

And with that, Harry and Louis continued to text back and forth, both wrapped in their covers and glued to their phones. By the time the clock reached 3am, they both were oblivious to how long they had been texting. They discussed different music they liked, they talked about the hardest teachers at their university, and they talked about everything and nothing for hours on end. Both too wrapped in each other to even think about falling asleep. 

**_what would you say if I asked you to do something with me that’s spontaneous and potentially illegal?_ **

**meet me outside my dorm in 5.**

Louis, faster than he had ever done anything at 3am, threw on a pair of his old ripped jeans, grabbed his trusty jean and sherpa jacket, a blanket and a bottle of tequila and headed outside. Clifford was fast asleep and would be okay home alone for a few hours while he slept and Louis made sure that he had enough water to last him the few hours he would be gone. 

**_grab some orange juice. no questions. be there in 3._ **

Harry’s stomach had done a triple backflip when he read Louis’ message and he immediately bolted upwards and grabbed the nearest pants he could find. These happened to be the pair of black joggers that accentuated his bottom half quite well if he does say so himself. That paired with his Hot N Hard KISS band tee and a beanie he found laying on the couch outside of his room and he was ready to do. He miraculously had a jug of orange juice in his fridge that wasn’t expired and he grabbed it, still wondering what the hell they would need it for. He slipped on his white vans that were laying by the door and padded his way outside just in time for Louis to pull up in his car. His was much nicer compared to Harry’s, what seemed to be a later model Honda. Louis swung into the parking lot and shone Harry a million dollar smile that told him that they were definitely about to get into trouble. The only problem being that   
Harry had no problem getting in trouble at all, as long as he was by Louis’ side. 

He hopped into the passenger seat of Louis’ car and looked up at him expectedly. 

“Ever been to the top of Bailey?” Louis asked with a raised eyebrow and a hint of mischief in his voice. 

“Not yet.” Harry said. And typically Harry would have said something along the lines of “Are you crazy? That’s a lecture hall we can’t just climb on top of it?? What if we fall? Or get caught?” But this time he felt himself being pulled toward Louis as though there was a magnetic pull between the two. They quickly reached the parking lot of Bailey Hall, and Louis looked over at Harry with a serious look. 

“If you don’t want to do this, speak now or forever hold your peace. It’s a long way up and I don't want to see you freeze up halfway there.” 

“I’m in. Whatever this is, whatever we’re doing, I’m in.” Harry responded. And honestly, he wasn’t sure if he was responding to the immediate danger he was asked about, or whatever he and Louis were doing, big picture. Either way, his answer stayed the same. And so they climbed out of the car and Louis held open his backpack from the backseat for Harry to put his orange juice in and they began their journey up to the building. 

The first few floors were easy enough to climb, with fire escapes winding around the building for them to climb. Once they reached the fifth floor though, they were met with a locked off fire escape and nowhere to go, or so Harry thought. Before he could even ask Louis where they were going next, Louis grabbed his hand and started to climb around the fenced off stairwell. Harry’s stomach dropped. It wasn’t like he was afraid of heights, he just wasn’t completely confident scaling the side of a building, five floors up, in the middle of the night. 

Harry grabbed Louis’ hand tighter which made Louis look back at him. 

“You alright?” Louis asked with genuine concern in his eyes. 

Harry could see the moon reflecting off of his cheekbones and the blue in his eyes shining brighter than he had ever seen, and suddenly he felt completely safe. Yes, he was several feet above ground and could possibly fall to his death at any second, but the look in Louis’ eyes told him that he would do absolutely anything to prevent that from happening. 

Harry gave Louis’ hand a reassuring squeeze and they kept moving forward. They moved floor by floor this way and Louis made sure that at each stopping point, he looked Harry in the eyes and made sure he was still comfortable with going higher. While Louis put off a front of being sarcastic and chill, Harry could see the intent in his eyes when he asked Harry if he was okay. 

They finally reached the top of the building after what seemed like three hours of climbing. Harry checked his phone and found that the time was only 3:45am, meaning that they had been climbing for a maximum of 40 minutes. 

Louis pulled Harry’s hand up to the final destination on the top of the roof and Harry almost lost his footing. Not because he slipped, but because of the breathtaking view. He could see the entirety of campus from here, and all of the lights of the city in the distance lit up their view like a galaxy of only stars. Harry continued to stare off into the distance, taking in all of the sights he could. Louis on the other hand was taking in the only sight that mattered to him at the moment; Harry. He could see the way the stars lit up the different shades of green in his eyes. Louis was tracking the entirety of Harry’s face with his eyes when Harry’s gaze found his. They looked at each other for what felt like an eternity, until Harry looked down at Louis’ lips. He instinctively licked his own and flicked his eyes back up to Louis’. While it was dark, Louis could see Harry’s pupils dilate at just the sight of his lips. Louis took the opportunity to grab Harry by the nape of his neck and pull him in for a passionate kiss. Harry immediately melted into the kiss and wrapped his long arms around Louis’ waist, pulling him impossibly closer. Louis ran his fingers through Harry’s long hair and grabbed on to a handful of his curls. Harry sucked in a rough breath and quietly moaned into his mouth and Louis knew at that moment that Harry would be the end of Louis. They continued to kiss on the roof, slowly and lazily learning every curve and edge of each other’s bodies as they raked their hands over one another. 

Louis was the first one to pull back and he saw the way Harry almost whined at the loss of contact. Harry slowly opened his eyes to meet his and they found themselves once again just staring at one another, sharing everything without saying a word. Louis finally pressed a light kiss on Harry’s lips and pulled him into his side. 

“Do you want to know the real reason I brought you up here tonight? Other than to make out with you in front of a view?” Louis rubbed Harry’s shoulder and leaned his head on Harry’s. 

“I come up here when I want to be alone. When I need to think or when I just need to step away from the world and see it from a different point of view. But after today, I wanted to share this with someone… with you. I thought of all the times I have come up here watching the people below living their own lives. I thought about how I could have seen you walking down campus before I even knew who you were. I thought back to how I wanted to be alone before, and how I don’t think I want to be alone anymore.” Louis kept his gaze steady on the skyline, but Harry looked up at him from Louis’ chest. 

Their eyes met in a silent understanding, and they both silently smiled at one another. 

“And the orange juice?” Harry asked quietly with a poke to Louis’ side. 

“Well you can’t have a sunrise without the tequila!” Louis exclaimed to Harry as he pulled a bottle of tequila out from his bag. Harry laughed into his chest and hugged him even tighter. 

Louis then wrapped them both in the blanket he had at the bottom of his backpack and brought out the tequila and orange juice. The pair passed them back and forth while looking out to the skyline and sipping leisurely, enjoying the high of being pressed against one another. 

Harry had dozed off on Louis shoulder before the sun even rose, but as it peaked it rays from the distant horizon, Louis could not bring himself to wake the peaceful boy wrapped around him. He relented to leaning his head on Harry’s and pulling him in closer, not ever wanting to let him go. 

The sun rose, filling the morning sky with pale purple and orange rays. Harry was still fitted into Louis’ side, and everything in the world seemed to fall perfectly into place. 

**Author's Note:**

> big thank you to eden and autumn for helping me with this! I love you guys so so much <3


End file.
